We compare prices form the top UK insurers and because we get our rates directly from them and are their cheapest route to market we can pass those savings to you. We offer quotations from Allianz, AVIVA, AXA, FORTIS, LV, MMA, Equity, Zurich, Groupama, RSA, NIG, Broker Direct and our own branded policy backed by a panel of insurers including Equity, Ageas, LV=, Markerstudy, Axa and Covea.

Motor Insurance

Motor Insurance in the UK is compulsory – but you know that and that’s why you’re here. But buying the cheapest car insurance could be the most expensive mistakes you could make, especially if you are not covered when you come to make a claim. Making sure that your car insurance covers you correctly and meets your demands needs is more important than saving a few pounds.

KeyNote:- There are many ways in which you can reduce your premium, but it should never be at the cost of reducing the cover offered.

There are currently over 20 factors that help determine the premium that you pay for your Motor Car Insurance and yes, you’ve guessed it, mostly we use a computer to work it all out.

Many people want to compare prices to get the best deal that they can for their car insurance but our clients tell us that the whole thing is a bit of a minefield – comparison websites, direct insurers, specialist schemes – but which one to use.

It is important to note that insurance providers who offer cheap policies have generally stripped out certain segments of cover. For example, removing cover for a courtesy car in the event of accident, or reducing levels of cover provided for audio and satellite navigation equipment and what about the Excess, usage, policy cover, reputation and a good claims service?

KeyNote:- Some insurers will provide a discount if you feel comfortable with purchasing cover online, but be careful, as insurers often compensate the loss in premium, by applying a higher compulsory excess.

We have both the panel of insurers and products to deal with all this and more.

For Private Car insurance using the SSP quotation engine we review 152 quotations for every single policy both at inception and automatically at every [renewal].

We believe this gives you more choice than anywhere else and it also ensures that over time you always have the right cover at the right price.

A comprehensive policy gives you greater cover in unforeseen events. For example, if you have children, cover against theft or damage to a child car seat could be important to you. Most comprehensive policies will provide cover, either as a standard or optional benefit.

Over recent years there has been an increase in accidents with an uninsured drivers and this means that unless your policy provides comprehensive insurance, the damage to your car is not covered and you will have to pay for the repairs. These incidents are frustrating and upsetting, but having comprehensive cover means repair costs are covered by your insurance.

Third party only is the minimum level of cover provided for motor vehicles in the UK. This insurance covers your liabilities in respect of:

Damage to someone else’s property (for example, another vehicle, but not your own vehicle).

Third party, fire and theft cover could be more useful as your vehicle ages and drops in value. In the past premiums were generally cheaper, as accidental damage cover is not included. Today many insurers don’t offer this cover and for older drivers in rural areas comprehensive is quite often the cheapest form of cover. For some policyholders, the reassurance that cover is provided if their vehicle is stolen or damaged by fire or an attempted theft with a cheaper premium is more attractive.

Policy Excess

When purchasing comprehensive insurance, one of the major things to look out for is the excess that you may have to pay towards the cost of repair to your car. For example, if your policy has a £500 excess, this means that you will have to pay £500 towards the cost of repair. Be aware than any compulsory excess levied by the insurer these apply in addition to any voluntary excess you have chosen.

Some insurers apply compulsory excesses due to the type of car you drive, or apply excesses for drivers that are aged under 25, or have not held a full driving licence for 12 months.

In addition be aware of the excess you have to pay when you have your windscreen or glass replaced. The typical glass replacement excess ranges from £50-£75.

Remember, also to check whether your insurer applies an excess when the glass is repaired, as a number of insurers have started to apply an excess for these claims.

For third party, fire and theft cover, be aware of the excess that is applicable for fire and theft claims. Some insurers apply different level of excess, typically ranging from £100-£150.

Paying particular attention towards the policy excesses will ensure that if you have to claim, there are no nasty surprises.

Additional Policy Benefits

There are a number of benefits offered by a car insurance policy irrespective of whether you are insured for comprehensive or third party, fire and theft cover, although the cover provided may differ.

For example, loss or theft of the vehicle’s keys would mean that the locks would need to be changed. While cover for the replacement of the vehicle’s locks is usually provided there are varying limits between policies.

Most policies will provide cover for ‘foreign use’ either as a standard benefit or as an optional extension. If you are likely to do a lot of overseas driving, you should alert your insurance company who will then extend your policy to provide the same level of cover given in the UK while you are driving abroad.

Many comprehensive policies provide 'new-for-old' insurance that replaces your car with a new vehicle of the same make and model, if it is written-off, or stolen and not found. For this cover to apply your car must be under 12 months old and you must be the first and only registered owner. If your vehicle is financed or leased you may not be able to benefit from this cover. In the event that the car is severely damaged most insurers will replace the existing car with a new car, if the cost of repair is at least 60% of the car’s UK list price.

Personal belongings cover is usually only provided within a comprehensive policy. Your clothing and personal belongings, such as coats, handbags, CDs and tapes are typically covered up to £150, against loss or damage by fire, theft, attempted theft or damage caused by a car accident, while in, or on, your car.

No Claims Discount

A motor insurance policy is an annually renewable contract and with most policies a no claims discount (NCD) is a reward for not claiming during the previous 12 months. The discount level rises for each consecutive 12 month period in which you have not made a claim, and is transferable if you switch to another insurer.

The discount is deducted from the basic premium at your annual [renewal]. You usually need to be claim-free for five years to receive the maximum discount, which is typically around 65%.

When you have accrued a maximum NCD you can usually opt, for a small extra premium, to protect your NCD. With some insurers your excess increases too. This means that your insurance provider will not reduce the discount given if a claim is made. There are though, limits to the number of claims made before the protection is removed. For example, a typical policy will allow two claims in a five year period before you lose your protection.

Some insurance providers also offer a ‘guaranteed’ NCD protection, which means they will not reduce your NCD irrespective of the number or type of claims made under the policy. Although this seems a good benefit insurers will increase your base premium in line with their underwriting rules if they believe that you are posing a greater than average risk.

Uninsured loss recovery

Uninsured loss recovery – which is sometimes sold as ‘legal expenses’ – is usually provided as an optional extension of cover; although there are a number of policies that include cover as a standard benefit – like Zurich Solutions. The cover allows you to employ legal representation to recover losses not covered by your policy. For example, if you are involved in an accident that was not your fault and are injured, you can claim compensation from person who caused the accident. If you have to pay an excess when your car is repaired, you can also reclaim this back from the other parties’ insurer.

An uninsured loss recovery policy will provide you with cover, typically up to £50,000, to employ a solicitor to recover your uninsured losses.

We offer all our clients full 24/7 accident management on all our Motor Insurance policies at a low cost of £15.00 per vehicle. This also includes Motor Legal Expenses Insurance. For more information and to review our Accident Management section from the side panel.

KeyNote:- Legal expenses is an essential cover and should always be considered when purchasing a car insurance policy. A number of car insurers include this cover as a standard benefit, but even where this is an optional extension, the cost to include cover is typically around £15 - £20; but it can be more.

Breakdown Insurance for all vehicles up to 3.5 Tonnes

Breakdown insurance was previously always sold as a separate cover by companies like AA, Europ Assistance, Green Flag and the RAC. Over the last few years, car insurers have started to include breakdown cover within their own policies, either as an optional extension or as a standard benefit – like Zurich Solutions.

Cover is provided in various ways, but most policies include cover for ‘roadside assistance’ ‘nationwide recovery’ and ‘home service’.

‘Roadside assistance’ will provide help and assistance at the roadside to get your car repaired so that you can continue your journey. ‘Nationwide Recovery’ will help to recover your car if it cannot be repaired at the roadside and tow it to the nearest garage or your home address. Cover with some insurers’ policies also includes taking you and your passengers home or to your intended destination. ‘Home service’ includes cover should you car breakdown at your home address. European Breakdown cover is also available with some car insurance policies and will provide breakdown insurance when you drive abroad.

We are part of the Zurich Maximise panel and as such every Zurich Solutions policy that we issue automatically includes Roadside Assistance at no extra cost.

For non-Zurich policyholders we have a unique policy for Breakdown Insurance, called 336699. This is provided by the RAC, the largest breakdown organisation in the UK who fix 82% of their call out at the roadside.

For more information and to use our 'Quote & Buy' facility review our RAC Breakdown Insurance section from the side panel.

KeyNote :- If you do high mileage, breakdown cover is essential. But check that you don’t have cover already under another financial product. A number of bank accounts and credit cards provide roadside cover as a free add-on, but check that what’s on offer is sufficient for your needs.

Claims Procedures

If you need to make a claim, there is normally a 24-hour emergency helpline you can call to obtain help and advice and to report the claim. Some insurers will also arrange for the recovery or removal of your car if it is no longer driveable, and arrange for you and your passengers to be taken to a safe place.

Many insurers provide a recommended repairer service, which allows the repair work to your car to begin straightway. These recommended repairers will usually provide you with a courtesy car so that you can continue with your day to day activities without disruption.

These days there is a pressure to use approved repairers and if you elect not to do so you may find that your policy excess automatically increases, there is no courtesy car provided, or you cars warranty is not reinstated after the accident.

With a straightforward claim, an insurer may authorise repairers immediately, but for more expensive or complex claims, it may send an engineer from the company to access the damage caused. This is more common when the car is either beyond economical repair and is ‘written off’, or is borderline on whether a repair should be completed due to the type of repair.

KeyNote:- Ask your insurer what service they would provide if you were involved in an accident late at night and you were stranded in the middle of nowhere and you could not drive your car. Would they send someone out to straightaway to recover your car or would you have to arrange this? What would happen to you and your passengers, would they arrange for you to be taken to a safe place or would you have to make your own arrangements? How quickly could they arrange for a courtesy car to be made available for you to use?

Courtesy Car Provision

One of the main benefits of a comprehensive policy is the provision of a courtesy car. For example, if your car was involved in an accident and needed to be repaired, this could take some time to do. If you rely on your car to get to work, the loss of the use of your car could cause major disruption.

Ensuring that your policy has this benefit means that when your own car is being repaired, the knowledge that you will be given a car to use, makes life much easier.

Most insurers will provide a courtesy car when your own car is being repaired, either as a standard policy benefit or as an optional extension, however, there are various restrictions that apply. For example, the majority of policies will provide a courtesy car for the duration of the repair of your own car, but there are policies that restrict the use of a courtesy car to 14 or 28 days.

Another area to consider is the provision of a ‘total loss’ courtesy car. The majority of insurance policies will only provide a courtesy car as long as your own car is repairable. This benefit is generally removed if your own car is declared as a ‘total loss’ or is beyond economical repair. There are a number of policies available that will include a ‘total loss’ courtesy car, either as a standard benefit, but more likely as an optional extension. Where cover is given, a courtesy car is available for between 4 to 21 days, which allows more time to find alternative arrangements.

Whichever courtesy car option is included within an insurance policy, the type of car provided is usually a small hatchback car. For some people, this type of car would be impracticable, for example, a large family that has a seven seater car. Some insurers have recognised these problems and have introduced the option to prove a ‘like for like’ courtesy car and other policies will also provide a ‘prestige’ type car.

KeyNote:- Before you purchase your policy check with your insurer to confirm the type of courtesy car that is provided and that it meets your needs. Consider the prospect that if your car is going to be in the garage for a while, will you have a courtesy car for the whole of that time? Similarly, if your car is written off, will a courtesy car be available until you get a new one? Also, is the type of courtesy car provided adequate for your needs?

Helping Reduce your Premium

Although we have mentioned that price should never be the main reason to purchase car insurance, nonetheless, it is still an important reason when deciding which policy to purchase. There are a number of ways that you can reduce your premium, some of these will not cost you a thing, while others will mean a little bit of investment in your vehicle:nnn

Many new cars have an alarm or immobiliser installed. Check with your manufacturer whether these are Thatcham approved as insurers will provide discounts for Thatcham approved alarm and immobilisers. Similarly, if a tracking device is fitted to your car, an insurer may provide a discount.

If you are able to garage your car or park on a driveway a discount may be given.

Request a voluntary excess.

If you are married and your spouse can drive, add them to your policy, as typically the premiums charged for insured and spouse risks are cheaper.

If you are insuring a second car, ask the insurer whether they provide a ‘second car’ discount.

If you insure more than one car with the same insurer, check to see whether they provide a ‘multi-car’ discount. Similarly, if you have other insurance, such as your home insurance with the same insurer, ask if they provide a discount.

Temporary Vehicle Cover

There are times when you need to insure a vehicle that you are responsible for sometimes for just a few days. For more information and to use our 'Quote & Buy' facility review our Temporary Vehicle Insurance from the side panel.